Bridge flooring



Aug. 6, 1940.

c. M. NEELD BRIDGE FLOORING Filed July 23, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet lINVENTOR.

WW I ATTORNEY.

G. M. NEELD BRI-nenmooR N G Aug. 6, 1940.

s Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jui 23 1938 [Wearing Surface IN VEN TOR.

BY W

A TTORNEY.

Aug. .6, 1940. c. M. NEELD 2,210,252

BRIDGE rnoonmc- Filed'July 25. 193.8 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVEN TUR.

A TTORNEY.

Patented Aug. 6, 1940 UNITED STATES BRIDGE FLOORING 7 Charles M. Neeld,Pittsburgh, Pa.

Application July 23, 1938, Serial No. 220,888

Claims.

My invention relates to bridge flooring and the like, and moreparticularly to flooring units of such character that they can readilybe preformed and then installed on a bridge or the like.

5 In replacing the flooring of old bridges, it commonly is necessary toclose off the bridge to the movement of trafiic if serious interferenceis to be avoided as between the operations of the workmen and publictravel.

By the use of my invention it is possible to replace bridge flooring ineach of a plurality oftraffic lanes or vehicle widths, withoutsubstantial interruption of travel or restriction to operations of theworkmen.

A further advantage of my invention resides in the fact that theflooring can be preformed in large sections and then moved to the.bridge and quickly placed in areas where old sections of flooring havebeen removed. This preforming of the floor sections can be effectedindoors, independently of weather conditions, and trafiic can moveacross the same immediately upon installation thereof.

Flooring units constructed according to my invention and the manner ofinstalling the same are shown in the accompanying drawings whereinFigure 1 is a transverse sectional view through the roadway of a bridge;Fig. 2 is a fragmentary side elevational or longitudinal view thereof,but with one of the floor sections in elevated position previous to theplacing of the same on the floor beams of the brdige; Fig. 3 is alongitudinal sectional view showing the floor slabs or sections of Fig.2 in asssembled position; Fig. 4 is a view on an enlarged scale taken-onthe line IVIV of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a view taken on the line V-'V of Fig.4; and Figs. 6, 7, 8 and 9 are views similar to Fig. 4, but respectivelyshowing modified forms of arch beams.

0 The present invention constitutes an improvement upon that shown in myPatent 2,110,235, issued March 8, 1938. In the present instance thepreformed slabs are built up to a size of perhaps 60 feet in length and11 feet in width. Each slab 45 comprises a series of arch beams 6 whoseabutting edges are welded together at proper intervals throughout theirlengths, as indicated at I in Fig.

4 and are also welded to cross beams 8. Reinforcement mesh 9 extendslengthwise of the arch beams and has its longitudinal edges welded tothe sides of the beams. Anchoring plates ID are welded to the beams, toassist in retainingthe concrete H in place. Dam plates l2 are weldedinto the spaces between adjacent beams, near the ends thereof to keepsaid ends clear of the concrete filling II when it is being poured. Theconcrete II (which may be of cement and sand) is poured after the saidwelding operations are completed, tosuch depth that its upper surfaceswill be flush with the top surfaces of the arch 5 beams 6. After thisconcrete has hardened, the slab is ready to be placed as part of abridge floor, in end-to-end relation with other slabs.

The slabs are shown as set upon chairs or spacer blocks I3 which havebeen welded to floor beams 14 and are then welded to the cross beams 8of the slabs, although the beams'S could be set directly upon the beamsI4. At the edges of the roadway, the slabs are welded to structuralmembers of the bridge, as indicated at 15. 15

The ends of the longitudinally-extending arch beams of one section arethen'welded to the ends of the arch beams of an adjacent section, asindicated at [6, through the deposit of welding metal thereon. Thereuponthe spaces between adjacentdam plates I2 are filled with quick-settingconcrete ll, temporary blocks, or other suitable ma-' terial, theinclined plates l2 serving to anchor said filling in place. The sectionscan then be subjected to ordinary highway travel without the necessityof first applying the paving surface.

Ordinarily one traffic lane of a bridge will be fully completed by theplacing of the preformed slabs in end-to-end relation, as aboveexplained, and thereafter an adjoining traffic lane will be built inlike manner, of assembled slabs, the line a--b in Fig. 1 indicates thelongitudinal line of division between the two traffic lanes. When a slabis initially formed, one half of the arch beam along one edge thereof iscut off, leaving only onehalf of the web, which rests upon a beam l9.Initially this beam is positioned as shown by dotted lines in Fig. l, toafford temporary support at the edge of the first slab. Preliminary toplacing the adjacent slab, the beam I9 is shiftedto its full lineposition and then serves as a permanent support for the edges of bothslabs. Not only does this arrangement permit of fitting the slabs toroadways whose width is not an exact multiple of the widths of the archbeams, since a greater or less amount of the innermost arch beams can becut away to provide for the proper width, but no pouring of. concrete isrequired after the slabs are placed, as would be the case if the edgesof two full arch beams abutted along the longitudinal line of divisionbetween the traffic lanes.

Surfacing material is then placed upon the slabs, such materialpreferably consisting of a thin layer 2| of water-proof material such asa flow along adjacent lane with less delay usually than is caused by atraffic light. When pavin' of one trafiic lane has been completed,another traffic lane can similarly be replaced. The surfacing materialcan be placed upon each lane of slabs immediately after they arepositioned on.- the bridge or can be deferred until all lanes of slabshave been laid.

shown in Fig. Lthestructure of the bridge has secured thereto spacerblocks or. plates 23 to which i'sin turn secured a traific guard member24 which may be of the same form as the arch beams 6. To the lowerportion of this member 24 is welded a buffer rail 25 that projectsoutwardly from the traflic guard 24 sufllciently far to beengaged by thetires of vehicle wheels. The member 25 is located in a plane below thehubs and foot boards of vehicles, and projects toward the roadwaysufficiently far to prevent foot boards and hub caps from hitting theguard member 24. The guard member 24 is located in vertically spacedrelation to the bridge paving, so that dirt can be disposed of simply bysweeping it from the bridge floor over the side.

In Fig. 6 I have shown arch beams 26 of somewhat diiferent form than thebeams 6, this beam being another form of standard rolled section. Inthis section 26, the flanges are of somewhat different shape than theflanges of Fig. 6, in that their edgemost portions 21 have directabutting engagement with one another and are welded together, leavingrecesses or pockets 28 that can be filled with the concrete andinterlock therewith. The anchor plates 29 in this structure extendcrosswise of the beams instead of extending parallel, thereto as in Fig.4. Also in this structure the metal at the underside of the slab is moreconveniently accessible for painting.

In Fig. 7, the arch beams 39 may be made of rolled shapes; These beamshave bulbs or thickened portions 3| formed on the edges of their flangesto provide for greater strength, so that the metal of the beam isdistributed in such manner that the neutral axis thereof will be inapproximately the horizontal mid plane of the beam, which, of course,gives a structure of maximum strength. Projections or flanges 32 areformed on the beams 30 to serve as anchoring elements for holding theconcrete in place. The lower edges of the members 3| are. flattened soas to give an extended area of-contact with the beam 33.

In Fig. 8, I show an arch beam of such form that two arch portions 34can be rolled from a single bar, each beam therefore'being of doublewidth, as compared to the arch beams of other figures. In this structurealso, sufficient metal is provided in the flanges at 35, 3'6 and 31, asto locate the neutral axis in the mid plane of the beam.

'Fig.9 shows still another form of rolled arch beams '38, wherein themid portions extend downiotraific. "dimensions that they cannot readilybe tran wardly and are thickened as indicated at 39. The longitudinaledges of the beams'38 are supported by and welded to beams 40. Thisarrangement not only has very great strength, but is more readilyadaptable to being built up into sections of various widths.

The invention also is useful in connection with the building of newbridges, because one lane of slabs can be laid thereon and immediatelyopened to traffic, the. slabs for the pther lane being transportedalongthe completed lane and set into' place without any prolongedinterruption The slabs are preferably of such large ported by highway orrailroad in the usual manner, but will more conveniently be made in thevicinity of the bridge, and the work of assembling the arch beams,welding them, and filling in the concrete can be conducted in tents,while the framework of the bridge is being construoted. .The "slabscanthen immediately be placed on the ,bridgework, thus saving the timewhich would otherwise be required in installing the roadway portion ofthe bridge if the floorin elements were not largely preformed.

I claim as my invention:

. 1. A roadway comprising slabs 'each formed of arch beams disposed inside-by-side relation, means rigidly connecting the arch beams of eachslab, paving material filling the space between the arch portions ofadjacent beams, to points adjacent to the ends thereof, leaving portionsof the beams exposed at said ends for connection to adjacent beams,anchoring means for holding the material insaid space, means connectingthe ends of adjacent slabs, filling material covering. the said exposedportions of the beams, and means for anchoring said filling material inplace.

2. A roadway'compr-ising slabs each formed of arch beams disposed inside-by-side relation, means rigidlyconnecting the arch-beams of eachslab, dam plates secured between the arch portions of adjacent beams, atpoints near the ends of ,said, beams, and leaving portions of the beamsexposed at said ends for connection to adjacent beams, the dam platesbeing inclined with their upper edges nearer to the extremities of thebeams, means connecting the ends of adjacent slabs, and paving materialfilling the spaces between the-arch portions of the arch beams.

3. A paving slab comprising arch beams arranged in side-by-side relationwith their flanges secured to .beam members disposed crosswise thereof,and concrete filling the spaces between the arch portions adjacent thebeams, to a height flush with the upper surfaces of the arch beams, thecross-beams being of a length approximately equal to thecombined widthsof the arch beams and the slab being transportable for positioning uponthe floor ,sills or the like of a bridge.

4. A, paving slab comprising arch beams arranged in side-by-siderelation with their flanges secured to beam. members disposed crosswisethereof, and concrete filling the spaces between the arch :portionsadjacent the beams, to a height flush with. the upper surfaces of thearch beams, the cross beams being of a length approximately equal'tothecombined widths of the arch beams and the slab being transportable forpositioning u'pon the floor sills or the like of a bridge, the arch beamalong one edge of the slab being cut away, to provide space for theinsertion of a beam .member between said arch beam and th cross beams,adjacent to said edge.

5. A paving slab comprising arch beams arranged in side-by-side relationwith their flanges secured to beam members disposed crosswise thereof,and concrete filling the spaces between the arch portions adjacent thebeams, to a height flush with the upper surfaces of the arch beams, thecross beams being of a length approximately equal to the combined widthsof the arch beams and the slab being transportable for positioning uponthe floor sills or the like of a bridge, the arch beams having theirtops flattened and the Widths of the said tops and the said filledspaces being approximately equal.

CHARLES M. NEELD.

